Heidi Shamsuddin is an award winning author of books inspired by Southeast Asia for both
children and adults. Her first short story won the regional prize for the Eye Level Children’s
Literature Award in 2012. In 2017, her screenplay for the animated film, Batik Girl won the
IPCC Award and was made into an award winning film. As part of her ongoing undertaking
to preserve and spread the folklore of the region, Heidi has become an authority on the
subject through her book, Nusantara: A Sea of Tales (published by Penguin Random House
SEA) which has recently been nominated in the writing category for the IBBY Honour List
2024. Her latest book from Penguin, Zarra and the Twelve Realms of Kayangan has just been
published by Penguin Random House SEA.